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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25357432">a glimpse of light in a mine of gold</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtendlessly/pseuds/hooked'>hooked (writtendlessly)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Descendants (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Sea Three (Disney: Descendants), vague and metaphorical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:07:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25357432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtendlessly/pseuds/hooked</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Uma, Harry, and Gil. Three people just trying to make a name for themselves and find their calling in life. Three people trying to survive.</p><p>On the Isle it's every man for himself, but luck comes in threes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gil/Harry Hook/Uma, implied?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a glimpse of light in a mine of gold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Check end notes for warnings!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone who knows of her says that Uma is like the ocean.</p><p>Daughter of Ursula, with salt in her veins and pearls for eyes. She could enchant the strongest warrior, a siren in a storm, and leave them wrecked. Murky with mud, polluted by the Isle, you could never know what truly lives under the facade of her waves and foam.</p><p>But anyone who<em> knows</em> Uma says that she is fire. </p><p>Destructive, suffocating, more powerful than any other force and yet, needed to survive. The strength of her rage fuels her, singes anyone who gets too close. Maybe that's why her own mother worked her so hard—a fire without fuel will die out eventually, nothing but embers and soot. Maybe that's why she could never trust anyone—you never know who's bringing wood to feed you or sand to starve you. And what a coincidence that both can be found in steady supply at the beaches she calls home. </p><p>Uma has always looked out for herself because nobody was going to do it for her. By the time she was old enough to talk and walk she was put to work at the restaurant and at first, it almost seemed fun. There was a part of her that always wanted to be like her mother—someone strong, someone in control, someone who could weave words so well that you'd slit your own throat and thank her for the idea. Her mother taught her everything she knew at that point, so she knew exactly what to do when a drunk man cornered her outside the door to the kitchen, demanding and grinning with too many teeth. </p><p>When she told her mother later, Ursula just said, "Good" and Uma felt like she was floating in clean waters at the sound of her mother's praise.</p><p>And then it kept happening. And the man brought friends. And he got bolder.</p><p>And when she told her mother, Ursula just said, "Good" and Uma felt brave for once so she asked what she meant. Ursula told her that it will make her stronger, teach her a lesson, make her do better.</p><p>And Uma realized that she never had a mother at all, and she had always been on her own.</p><p>So Uma built her empire. She started with a few blocks, nothing but houses and empty buildings. Then she got more, and more, and soon came the Lost Revenge and then her crew and before she knew it, it was only her and Mal at the top. But the problem with being made of flames is that when you think you have control, there's always a new gust of wind or patch of dry tinder and that control is ripped away from you. Too much fire will kill you, just as soon as none at all. She was a wildfire—starting from a spark and spreading uncontrollably, seemingly with no direction or plan. </p><p>But Uma always had a plan. First the Isle, then the world.</p><p>Her reign was limited, at first, by the icy walls of Mal's territory—fire melts ice but it's not instant, and her pathetic little minions were always rebuilding in new spots. And then with Mal gone it was all hers and the only thing still stopping her was the barrier. And after that, there was just an ocean between her and everything she dreamed of. </p><p>But if there's anything that can subdue fire, it's water.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Harry Hook was born on a boat. </p><p>There has never been a moment in his life where he wasn't a pirate, a sailor, a wharf rat. He knew how to rig a ship before he knew how to read. He still isn't sure if he learned to walk or swim first, but both are as natural to him as breathing. </p><p>Most would say that Harry has sea water where he should have blood, and he would agree. Even when the glint in his father's eyes turned aggressive instead of proud, even when his lessons became Harriet's and he was sent off to Serpent Prep, even when CJ took his spot at Hook's Inlet and Shack—he would still come home to the Jolly Roger happily.</p><p>Nobody would guess it, but Harry liked being part of a crew. There was always a sense of camaraderie with his father's men and it felt good to listen to orders and serve a purpose bigger than himself. </p><p>But Captain Hook lost himself in bottles of liquor, and Harry lost himself to his impulses, and somewhere along the way he lost his family and his crew too. The only thing he couldn't lose was his hand, and part of him still wonders if that was what his father wanted when he gave Harry the hook, if that was why Harry could never be enough.</p><p>So Harry drifted at sea for awhile, swimming against the tide of his own bad decisions, and suddenly he wasn't <em>Captain Hook's only son</em> but <em>Harry Hook</em>, a veritable storm, lightning in a bottle. </p><p>Jonas called him <em>unpredictable</em>. Desiree called him <em>irritable</em>. Jay called him <em>bloodthirsty</em>. Mal called him <em>fucking</em> <em>crazy</em>.</p><p>It didn't take long to spread. Harry was unstable. Harry was deranged. Harry liked to bite and stab and hook and couldn't be stopped. He was irresponsible and irresistible. He was the guy you met in back alleys, never knowing if a fist or a kiss, or both, were coming your way until it was too late.</p><p>Uma had found him one day, his waves gentle but tide rising, and asked if it was true. It didn't matter what rumor she was asking about—killing his real father and Hook adopting him, seeing things that weren't really there, cutting people with his hook just to lick up the blood after—he said <em>yes</em> regardless. Uma grinned at him, called him typhoon, hurricane, <em>tempest</em> and the rest was history.</p><p>Uma's fire gave him something to do, a goal to pursue, but even her heat couldn't subdue his unpredictable moods. Calm waters or rolling waves. High tide or low tide. Nobody could guess what would happen next, least of all him, but they knew not to swim out too far or dive too deep lest some unseen monster drag them away. They knew there were depths to him that could never be reached no matter how much they longed to learn. They knew that water sustained them and drowned them all the same. Too much water will kill you, just as soon as none at all. </p><p>But he wasn't always acting alone. Still water is risky, but waves crash and storms spin with the power of the wind. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Gil stumbled his way into Uma's crew the way he does most things—unaware but enthusiastic, heart on his sleeve and head in the clouds. He's strong and resilient and can climb his way up anything and Uma saw something in him. It didn't take her long to convince him to join her and Harry and the others. The fact that he'd be moving onto the boat was just a bonus.</p><p>Harry tested him at first. Gil would spend hours carrying shipments on his own. Would clean the entire deck on the hottest summer days. Harry was the first mate, it was his job to delegate and punish the crew, and Gil saw no reason not to follow him. He heard the rumors just like everyone else, but he always put more value into what he could see with his own eyes. What he saw was a fair captain, a loyal first mate and a crew of misfits—as much as one can be a "misfit" on the Isle—who found their place. </p><p>There were rumors about him too, of course, when he first joined. Starry-eyed, thin-skinned, air-headed. Gil was used to being reduced to just his body, what he could do with his hands and legs and back. He knew he wasn't that smart, not like Harry and definitely not like Uma. His captain had all kinds of plans and ideas, notebooks full of words he didn't know and maps and diagrams. She was the smartest person he knew and, even if he would only say it in his mind for fear of his father's reaction, also the strongest person he knew.</p><p>Growing up, Gil had always felt out of place. A mix of too small and too big that left him always searching for somewhere he could fit. His mother called him Goldilocks when he was a boy and even after she stopped, the name always stuck somewhere behind his ribcage. </p><p>Between Harry's ocean and Uma's wildfire he found his <em>just right</em>. The waves need wind to move and the flames need oxygen to grow. He was their cool breeze on a summer day and the strong winds that filled their sails. He was a whisper and a tornado. Too much air will kill you, just as soon as none at all.</p><p>There wasn't much wind on the Isle, truthfully, and maybe that was the reason everyone said he didn't belong there, wasn't fit to be a VK like the rest of them. Gil thought maybe they were right but he knew enough to know there wasn't any way to change his fate. That's what he had Uma for, to scheme and plot and facilitate their escape. </p><p>And when Uma put her plan into action, Gil stayed glued to the TV waiting for news. And when the reports came in of her escape from the boat, Gil knew she had another plan. And when Uma didn't return and Harry took over as captain, Gil stepped in as first mate but only called him <em>Harry</em>, never <em>Captain</em>. </p><p>Without her fire, Harry lost most of his self-restraint and Gil came to realize the limits of his strength. He only knew how to fuel Uma, how to twist Harry into a storm, but couldn't control the direction of their force. He felt hopeless and scared and spent all his free time in the crow's nest, even when it wasn't his shift as a lookout. Gonzo would pat him on the back and congratulate him on finding a place to escape Harry. He didn't tell anyone that he was looking for Uma instead. </p><p>Then Harry convinces him to jump through, and Uma reappears, and he eats grapes and he knows what everyone meant when they said <em>not meant for the Isle</em>.</p><p>Auradon felt like flying. Like he was a leaf—an actual <em>leaf! </em>from a tree!—caught in a draft and carried up to the heavens. He ate fruit, and met new people. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and his skin turned pink from the sun. Light-hearted. Blown away. Walking on air. </p><p>He had Harry and Uma on his left, and a brand new world to explore on his right. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WARNINGS: A suicidal action is mentioned but it's more of a metaphor, however the language is a bit graphic ("slit your throat"). It's said that men are cornering Uma, but no other details are given and nothing happens. Rumors about Harry mention a few different violent acts including sadism and murder, as well as a rumor that he has hallucinations. No rumors are confirmed or denied but I wrote Harry with the headcanon of him having BPD in mind. </p><p> </p><p>Hello, I crashed into this fandom like a month ago and I adore the sea three. I had this idea and wrote this in a day and now I'm posting it. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!</p><p>I have a million headcanons for Harry (my fav, obviously) and a decent idea of Uma from the movies but Gil was a struggle to write. I hope he turned out okay! You may notice that "earth" is missing and I already have an idea for who it is, so maybe I'll write that some day. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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